(Table AT1) Grain size distribution and stable isotope record of benthic foraminifera of ODP Hole 175-1085A

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The Walvis Paradox states that opal accumulation fluctuates in counterphase to general productivity on Walvis Ridge, off northern Namibia. Sediments of early Quaternary age from Site 1085 (Cores 175-1085A-7H to 10H, off South Africa) were studied to check the phase relationships of general productivity and opal deposition in the region off the Oranje River, near the southern end of the Namibia upwelling system. The proxies used are delta18O of Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi, delta13C of C. wuellerstorfi, benthic foraminifers per gram (BF/g), Uvigerina spp. per gram (U/g), estimated diatom abundance (EDA) and sulfide and oxide aggregates (SOA) in the coarse fraction. EDA and BF/g are taken to indicate diatom and organic matter productivity, respectively. Oxygen isotopes were used to determine phase within the glacial-interglacial cycles. The phase relationships between the different proxies emerge when applying internal stacking methods. For Core 175-1085A-7H, five prescribed 41-k.y. cycles were combined into an average 41-k.y. cycle for the different indices. Productivity indices (BF/g and U/g) tend to follow delta18O in the accustomed manner (with glacial periods showing maximum productivity), but not EDA, whose maximum appears closer to interglacials, offset toward cooling. Thus, phase relationships are similar to those on Walvis Ridge, extending the Walvis Paradox to the southern end of the Namibia upwelling system for the early Quaternary. A tentative reconstruction of the phase of intensity of mixing is given, based on the two productivity indicators EDA and BF/g. Mixing is strongest during the glacial maximum.

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